http://fiveten.com/ http://fiveten.com/images/stories/NewBox_black.png http://fiveten.com/ http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13938-abs14-nationals-semi-finals-alex-fritz http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13938-abs14-nationals-semi-finals-alex-fritz Since qualifying for Semi's was my goal for the comp, I was pretty much happy with how I was going to do no matter what. I went into day two with no expectations and high psych which to me meant I could only improve from there. I showed up for Iso a little earlier than the day before because I felt like I could have used a little better warm up than the previous day, and that put me in a pretty good mood heading out to climb. The routes started on the opposite side of... ]]> Wed, 06 Mar 2013 04:31:00 -0500 13938 2013-03-06 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_65562-10151776701429478-656221225-n-1362544319.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13937-starting-a-topsport-climbing-team-in-a-country-without-rocks-michel-kleinjan http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13937-starting-a-topsport-climbing-team-in-a-country-without-rocks-michel-kleinjan Back again with an whole new blog season. What happened the last 4 months: Personally I did a lot of power training in the gym. My trainer Hans Kroon is a well known Olympic power trainer here in Rotterdam. He guided me thru a power program to build by body again after my down time the last 8 years. It was an eye opener for me. I thought I was a sportsman because I progressed the last year from 6a to 7a french. But when I started the power training I knew I could progress much more then I... ]]> Tue, 05 Mar 2013 23:55:00 -0500 13937 2013-03-05 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_max-ruys-1362527714.png http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13935-chinese-ispo-mayan-smith-gobat http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13935-chinese-ispo-mayan-smith-gobat A crazy trip and another whirlwind experience…. Twenty hours of flying each way for three days in Beijing to attend ISPO, their big trade show. Sasha and I were there as athlete representatives for Adidas and Five Ten. It was a totally foreign world and could not have been any more different from my simple van life here, where my life revolves around training and climbing…Coming from Grand Junction, where I never drive more than 5min to get anywhere, the huge city of Beijing itself was a shock, with its constant noise, traffic jams and an insane amount of... ]]> Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:47:00 -0500 13935 2013-03-05 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13935_img-0259-1362603692.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13935_img-0265-1362603692.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13935_img-0278-1362603692.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13935_img-0318-1362603692.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13935_img-0363-1362603692.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13935_img-0390-1362603692.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13935_img-0449-1362603692.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13932-end-of-a-month-of-great-training-on-to-the-next-month-sierra-carroll http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13932-end-of-a-month-of-great-training-on-to-the-next-month-sierra-carroll Wow, it is already March. The year is going by so quickly, with Youth Nationals coming to a close this past weekend and Spring Break only 18 days away the semester is moving along quickly. This past few weeks have been crazy with school, along with climbing. Just a month ago I was trying to figure out whether or not I would be able to compete in Open National Championships two weeks ago as well as how much time I would have to be able to volunteer for youth nationals. Now with the month of February over I am... ]]> Tue, 05 Mar 2013 06:01:00 -0500 13932 2013-03-05 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_youthnats2013-1362463293.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13931-youth-abs-14-nationals-nicholas-milburn http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13931-youth-abs-14-nationals-nicholas-milburn Just finished up competing in Youth ABS 14 Nationals! I’ve been psyched for this comp for a long time now. I was feeling pretty good about myself moving into this comp except I had the worst back pain I have ever had in my life. I’m not entirely sure what it was, but it would occasionally hurt to breath. I could be wrong, but I think that is a bad thing. Luckily by the time the comp came it wasn’t quite as bad and if I took a bunch of Vitamin I (ibuprofen) it felt better.At this nationals there... ]]> Tue, 05 Mar 2013 01:06:00 -0500 13931 2013-03-05 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_11322-4518097516056-915694193-n-1362445597.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_537505-4521868770335-321410584-n-1362445597.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_11347-4521866890288-1181389595-n-1362445597.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_479834-4521869450352-2106734638-n-1362445597.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_535424-4521867730309-2015587947-n-1362445598.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13930-x-mas-in-bishop-mirko-caballero http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13930-x-mas-in-bishop-mirko-caballero This trip to Bishop was the coldest I ever experienced. When we arrived at the campsite around 2am on Dec 21, it was about 9ºF (-13ºC)!!! A few days later we had a snowstorm that dumped about 4 inches of snow in the campground. Who cares!!! I love Bishop in the winter. The cold makes the holds feel less greasy, and the views are just amazing!At the beginning of the trip I was planning to go project really hard climbs in the Buttermilks, but since they were snowed in and I hadn’t bouldered in almost nine months, my Dad... ]]> Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:51:00 -0500 13930 2013-03-04 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0714-1362426717.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0461-1362426717.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0893-1362426717.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0811-2-1362426717.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-0295-1362426717.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0466-1362426717.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0604-1362426717.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13929-stone-fort-winter-patrick-krieger http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13929-stone-fort-winter-patrick-krieger Before reading the long post, check out the video of the trip first, I can only imagine its more interesting than listening to me talk about the trip! After an easing period spanning a few months, 3 friends of mine and myself packed up for a 2 week trip and headed down to Stone Fort, Tennessee, where we hoped to spend our cold winter break under the Mason Dixon line in the sun. Unfortunately, though we made it past the war line we immediately caught rain. Catherine and I arrived... ]]> Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:04:00 -0500 13929 2013-03-04 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-8836-1362420293.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-9178-1362420294.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-8838-853x1280-1362420296.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-9247-1362420296.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-8911-1362420297.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-9079-1362420298.JPG http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13928-evening-chill-benjamin-rueck http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13928-evening-chill-benjamin-rueck It has been a little while since I have posted something.. partially because I found myself swamped with the real world… and partially because I have yet to have something to post at any great length… (I took a little time off to rejuvenate and recuperate).It has been a rough winter… negative temperatures and absolutely freezing conditions have made climbing in a down jacket a regualr necessity- that combined with handwarmers in the chalk-bag; I have managed to fight off the endearing cold. However; I have found that dealing with this has made me a better climber in general.... ]]> Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:57:00 -0500 13928 2013-03-04 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13928_photo-feb-02-1-21-52-pm-1362513048.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13928_photo-feb-23-8-46-08-am-hdr-1362513048.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13928_photo-feb-23-11-29-45-am-1362513048.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13927-small-town-roots-erica-carlson http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13927-small-town-roots-erica-carlson Every once in a while, you get writer’s block. You just don’t know what to write about. I was feeling that a while back so reached out to some friends looking for help with a topic. A friend that I first started climbing with back in Winnipeg, Manitoba suggested I write about my early days and transitioning from going from a smaller competition scene to being one of the top Canadian climbers now.As I’ve suggested so far, originally I wasn’t from Calgary, Alberta... I was from the flat of the flatlands, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Everyone always asks how I managed... ]]> Sun, 03 Mar 2013 18:27:00 -0500 13927 2013-03-03 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_197265-17484162960-59-n-1362335261.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_284-18367751045-9830-n-1362335261.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_240333-10150610100620478-17602-o-1362335261.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_5512-10151484726930470-1918594279-n-1362335261.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13926-return-to-hueco-jon-cardwell http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13926-return-to-hueco-jon-cardwell I've been climbing in Hueco ever since I can remember. I grew up in the desert expanse of New Mexico and the soaring syenite formations of Hueco Tanks were never too far away. My coach at the time and good friend, Lance Hadfield first introduced me to the boulders. I was twelve years old and it was my first time climbing outdoors. My mind raced, and I was hooked immediately. That first trip open my eyes to what climbing is about. I subconsciously made the decision to visit these rocks as often as I could in... ]]> Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:15:00 -0500 13926 2013-03-03 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-1351-1362330905.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-1470-1362330905.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-1599-1362330906.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-1448-1362330907.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-1485-1362330908.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-1451-1362330909.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13925-keeping-it-going-in-2013 http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13925-keeping-it-going-in-2013 Well, my bouldering season has ended (sort of) but on so many high notes and with much more potential to achieve. The last day of my Hueco vacation in January produced a flash of Rubber Chicken aka Van Dame (V10), bringing the trip damage to two V11’s and six V10’s over the course of three weeks. I took a break for another couple of weeks before returning to Texas for the Hueco Rock Rodeo, and then geared myself up for ABS Nationals the weekend after! ]]> Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:45:00 -0500 13925 2013-03-01 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_five-ten-blog-pic-1-1362167158.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_five-ten-blog-pic-4-1362167158.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_five-ten-blog-pic-2-1362167158.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_five-ten-blog-pic-5-1362167158.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_five-ten-blog-pic-3-1362167158.jpeg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13924-hueco http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13924-hueco Hueco this year was a little different than its ever been for me. I was guiding on North mountain, where I had only been to once or twice before, meaning I knew where just about nothing was. Other than the whole exploring a lot, the trip went really well for me! I came away with a slew of double digit boulders. Day one I took the kids up to the top of the chains so they could work on the See Spot Run boulder (Dark age (v11), Barefoot on sacred ground(v12), and See Spot Run (v6)) all boulders I... ]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:02:00 -0500 13924 2013-02-28 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_tiny-blog-1-1362085377.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_tiny-blog-2-1362085377.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_tiny-blog-3-1362085378.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_tiny-blog-4-1362085378.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13923-la-session-de-kathy http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13923-la-session-de-kathy Val-David has become almost a home for me. I really love this place. There are many good problems, some of them easy and some very hard. But the amazing thing is that all the problems have something to teach to you. I think that’s the real reason why I climb.I don’t believe in a universal level of climbing. For example, just because someone can do a V8 doesn't necessarily mean they can do a V6 or V7. The best approach to training is not just improving a general climbing level, but improving one or two specific types of... ]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:20:00 -0500 13923 2013-02-28 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_session-de-kathy-1362064837.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13922-the-sads-make-me-happy-seth-rogers http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13922-the-sads-make-me-happy-seth-rogers My Zero Gravity buddies and I took a couple of trips to Bishop over the last month. On Presidents Weekend, we camped at a place called Pleasant Valley Campgrounds, because the Pit was full. Luckily, it was much warmer than the time before when we camped and climbed in the snow. We found some really fun problems to climb, mostly in the Sads.We started in the Happys where I finally got Son of Claudius Rufus (V5). It's a fun traverse with a mantel finish. Most climbers prefer the Happys or the Buttermilks, but my... ]]> Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:18:00 -0500 13922 2013-02-27 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_climbing-1361956713.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_sleeping-1361956714.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_group-1361956716.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_pensive-1361956717.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_shirt-1361956719.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13921-checking-out-awesome-new-bouldering-gym-dogpatch-seth-rogers http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13921-checking-out-awesome-new-bouldering-gym-dogpatch-seth-rogers Last week my Zero Gravity teammates and I had the opportunity to go to DogPatch Boulders for a team-only open house. DogPatch is located in San Francisco in the Dog Patch neighborhood. It is a brand new bouldering gym that is not yet open to the public. When I first got there, my breath was taken away. The gym was massive in size, and the walls were 18 feet high with lots of fun angles!! Every time any of us climbed, we made sure we had a spotter. We got to climb for around 3 hours, and... ]]> Wed, 27 Feb 2013 07:47:00 -0500 13921 2013-02-27 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_team-dogpatch-1361951250.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_seth-1-1361951250.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_seth-hanging-1361951251.JPG http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13919-abs-national-2013-isabelle-faus http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13919-abs-national-2013-isabelle-faus This past weekend was ABS Nationals in Colorado Springs. It was held in the same venue as last year, and this being my first time competing in the city auditorium, i thought it was amazing. Having City Rock Climbing Gym right next door was huge perk, because it gave the competitors a nice place to warm up. I flew out of Boston on Thursday afternoon, and arrived in the Springs around midnight the night before the comp. ]]> Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:11:00 -0500 13919 2013-02-26 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_559890-506408946071482-1363884834-n-1361898686.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_13921-4479914601507-1569441791-n-1361898687.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_577140-506408939404816-493413443-n-1361898687.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-2227-1361898687.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_482321-506409979404712-1173242416-n-1361898687.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_307422-4479915081519-1178207633-n-1361898687.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_31455-506408249404885-1145284531-n-1361898687.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13918-weather-or-not-tim-rose http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13918-weather-or-not-tim-rose Sunday was supposed to be sunny, 48, blue bird and it was at 8am. I left MD early to blue skies, 50-degree temperatures and only grabbed my jacket to be safe. Our plan was to make the 4hr drive west to check out Coles cove. The temperature gauge in Brian’s car doesn’t work exactly, but it does measure some form of temperature, even if it’s not the temperature outside. The closer we got to our destination the lower the temperature was dropping. 30, 20, 18, 13, and finally stopped somewhere around 8. We... ]]> Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:09:00 -0500 13918 2013-02-26 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_screen-shot-small-1361894951.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_screen-small-2-1361894951.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13917-edyta-ropek-will-start-at-the-2013-world-games http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13917-edyta-ropek-will-start-at-the-2013-world-games Edyta Ropek, athlete supported by Five Ten, will take part in prestigious World Games competitions, which will take place in late July and early August in Cali, Colombia. Champion of speed climbing is awarded a qualification from the International Federation of Sport Climbing.  ]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:07:00 -0500 13917 2013-02-25 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_20130225-01-1361822842.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_20130225-02-1361822843.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_20130225-03-1361822843.JPG http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13916-training-and-desert-towers-mayan-smith-gobat http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13916-training-and-desert-towers-mayan-smith-gobat Living in a true winter this year has made me realize how much I really do dislike the cold... It was snowy, with daytime temperatures well below freezing for almost a month straight. I struggled with short days, very little sunshine and it simply being too cold to go play outdoors. This made me realize how much I love and how much my general happiness depends on being outside in nature. However, the positive aspect of this was that it really forced me to focus on training and spend time climbing at the gym, which I know is... ]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:06:00 -0500 13916 2013-02-25 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13916_img-0193-1361989910.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13916_img-0190-1361989910.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13916_img-0186-1361989911.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13916_img-0181-1361989911.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/13916_img-0173-1361989911.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13915-new-areas-new-experiences-nick-bradley http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13915-new-areas-new-experiences-nick-bradley Recently I went out to some nice boulders out in Mount Tamalpais, that have been long overlooked due to a more popular climbing area right of the beach about 10 minutes farther down the mountain. The boulders at Mount Tam are of surprisingly good quality, with many bulges and blocky pinches everywhere. A lot like a sport climbing area called Jailhouse up in the Table Mountains, the problems have tricky and complex sequences that make it hard to do each quickly. I was psyched to go to a new area and try out all the nicest lines there, as... ]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2013 05:32:00 -0500 13915 2013-02-25 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_photo1-1361770336.JPG